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No, I think his making a point about the fickleness of the mainstream.

Where did that one come from?

I was just saying that Kira sucks ass and shouldn't be anywhere near the top of any polls, except for maybe "lamest protagonist". The only male Gundam Seed character that I really liked was Mu La Flaga. The rest ranged from forgetable to terrible. There's no way that any of them shoud be higher on a popularity scale than Kyon, who like I said earlier, is one of the best anime protagonists in a while.

Eh, it sounds like TMoHS is getting more and more well known, so maybe by this time next year, Kyon will be at the #1 spot.

One of my fave animes, one of the most hilarious and craziest animes I've ever seen, but oooh so good! I loved it! I loved the way Haruhi indirectly showed her love and interest in Kyon. Kyon was my fave chara of them all. His laziness and "slow" attitude was just so percfectly fitting for him.

I really really hope there will be a season 2...!! What do you guys think?

Based on the Haruhi fever in Japan... I'd say the odds are pretty good, but not until KyoAni finishes up Kanon2006 and their next project in the pipes (Full Metal Alchemist I think???) Anyone know what KyoAni has officially committed to after Kanon2006?

Based on the Haruhi fever in Japan... I'd say the odds are pretty good, but not until KyoAni finishes up Kanon2006 and their next project in the pipes (Full Metal Alchemist I think???) Anyone know what KyoAni has officially committed to after Kanon2006?

i read it from SOS-dan forum that KyotoAni after Kanon will animate 'Lucky Star' or thats the name of the anime

Based on the Haruhi fever in Japan... I'd say the odds are pretty good, but not until KyoAni finishes up Kanon2006 and their next project in the pipes (Full Metal Alchemist I think???) Anyone know what KyoAni has officially committed to after Kanon2006?

I'm assuming you meant Full Metal Panic, but if you didn't I'm going to go die of happiness at even a rumor suggesting the possibility of seeing Lan Fan animated.

I personally can't believe that nobody snatched this title up for licensing a long time ago, though. The popularity of this show in Japan was obvious enough, and the US anime companies must have had at the very least an idea how popular it was in the states, simply through its massive buzz on the internet.

I personally can't believe that nobody ed this title up for licensing a long time ago, though. The popularity of this show in Japan was obvious enough, and the US anime companies must have had at the very least an idea how popular it was in the states, simply through its massive buzz on the internet.

I think one (or both) of these things are occurring:

KyoAni knows it has gold and won't let it go for peanuts
KyoAni loves their baby and wants to make sure the right people get it

Haruhi is a gold mine, and I'm sure U.S. distributors have been beating down the doors at KyoAni since the singles hit #2 on Oricon. It will be licensed, it's just a question of who's willing to pay what it takes to get it. The US anime industry has been in a bit of a recession lately, so it's possible that no one can afford it at the moment.

My only question would be, would SHnY be as popular over here in North America as it did in Japan? Time will tell. I personally have some doubts to be honest, but it surely will be big, I am just wondering HOW big it will be.

My only question would be, would SHnY be as popular over here in North America as it did in Japan? Time will tell. I personally have some doubts to be honest, but it surely will be big, I am just wondering HOW big it will be.

That's a good question. It depends a lot on who licenses it and how they market it. Most of the marketing has already been done for them by the fan community (you can't go to an anime fansite without seeing a Haruhi thread anymore), but most of the mainstream community (read: the [adult swim] kids) have probably never even heard of it, so they've got their work cut out for them there.
As long as it's marketed properly (properly = tons of extras), everyone who's already a fan will be happy. I could care less how popular it gets.

Arguably, in 2006, the top new anime which has gained the most ground in the hearts and minds of grass roots North American anime fans is Kyoto Animation and Kadokawa's The Melancholoy Of Haruhi Suzumiya. The TV series only debuted in the spring in Japan but quickly became a viral phenomena in the English speaking world mirroring it's rapid popularity explosion in Japan. By the time only a handful of episodes had aired and been fansubbed, if you happened to tap the pulse of online fandom you'd have every indication the property was going supernova in America. It then penetrated anime cons nationwide in the US, the American media and continued to enjoy strong support online. It's around this time that one would expect alarm bells to be ringing in some offices in Texas and California to start making phonecalls and booking trips to Japan. A license announcement was anticipated by AX at least and certainly at one of the major anime cons of the summer. But it never came. Meanwhile fansubs saturate file sharing networks on the internet and the whole series shows up on YOUTUBE. So What's the hold up? There are several continuities of thought. Firstly, these days when an anime reaches the buzz level of a show like Haruhi you can bet several companies will be locked into a bidding contest for a period of time. A monetary figure is eventually put on the table that can't be surpassed by the others and that company gets the license. It's very possible this process could be going on right now.

It's also been postulated that licensing Haruhi Suzumiya for the American market could come with a snag........ in a bunny girl outfit. Some are saying it may be very difficult to work around the issue of a major character whose trademark sexy bunny costume appearance is litteraly already trademarked in the United States and other countries as well. To the uninitiated, Hugh Hefner's Playboy empire happens to own the registered trademark to the traditional bunny girl costume in America. Acquiring permission to use the bunny image is admittedly what kept Gainax's American division General Products USA from selling the Daicon animation shorts there in 1989 (although it's interesting that Otaku No Video and even more recently, the videogame Dragon Quest 8 both feature bunny girls and did make it to release in the market). It's possible the costume frames could be retouched (or completely replaced with something new) as was done for US release Dirty Pair manga several years ago. In that case, Kei and Yuri ended up with cocktail-waitress dresses. For Haruhi, this kind of compromise sounds even more likely if one takes into account the fact that the entire TV series is right now being massively retouched with over 1,000 pieces of animation being added (including new scenes, props etc..) in Japan for the DVD release. It would make sense that new scenes sans bunny girls could be easily created with the artists already in the studio at this time churning out the new material. Perhaps when this process is complete international licensing activities and releases can commence.

It's possible the costume frames could be retouched (or completely replaced with something new) as was done for US release Dirty Pair manga several years ago. In that case, Kei and Yuri ended up with cocktail-waitress dresses. For Haruhi, this kind of compromise sounds even more likely if one takes into account the fact that the entire TV series is right now being massively retouched with over 1,000 pieces of animation being added (including new scenes, props etc..) in Japan for the DVD release. It would make sense that new scenes sans bunny girls could be easily created with the artists already in the studio at this time churning out the new material. Perhaps when this process is complete international licensing activities and releases can commence.

WHAT?????!!!!!!!!!

Supreme %$*#-ing FAIL!!!!

Where's that pic of Quattro Bajeena saying "You phail at life!"? I'm gonna print that out on 100 sheets of cardboard paper and shove those sheets down the animators', licensers', and licens-ees' throats if this actually happens.

Thank god the above isn't an official announcement. Or heads would roll. >.>

Yes, I'm overreacting (intentionally, mind you ), but I hate it when they change stuff like this. Changing when there's a problem is one thing, but this should be fine. It's not like the anime characters are ripping off Playboy for a real-world profit, or taking away credit or anything from Playboy. And the bunny girl outfits are in like, what, two episodes? Give me a break.

I'm not usually the guy to whine and complain over minor changes for the sake of licensing, but the bunny thing is kinda like a symbol of Haruhiism as much as it is for Hefnerism after this show. Figures of all three of the main females in bunny outfits of different colors have been released, not to mention official artwork, fanart, doujinshi, and any other medium that could reflect the rabbits has adopted it as part of the package. Getting rid of the bunnies would not make fans happy. I agree with Shinji: "Supreme %$*#-ing FAIL!!!!"

Aye.. I'm going for the money theory ... historically the Playboy people have been pretty open about the use of outfits that resemble theirs as long as someone isn't claiming to be acting as a representative of the corporation. So they've been fine with parodies, satire, comedy, etc. Now if the official *logo* had been used, they'd protect that.